They say footwear used by the likes of Michael Owen, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole come from a business which sees baby kangaroos decapitated.

Nike, adidas, Umbro and Puma all use ultra-soft kangaroo skin in their top-of-the-range boots.

And nearly four million of the creatures are shot for commercial purposes in Australia every year.

Aussie government rules say the babies must be killed with a blunt instrument or decapitated, while adults are shot from the back of trucks.

But animal rights group Viva! said the practice leads to unnecessary suffering since many animals are often only wounded by hunters, leaving them to die over days.

Once shot the adults are partially butchered in the Outback and taken to chiller compartments before being used for boot leather.

Kangaroo skin is softer and more pliable than cow leather and also provides better weather-proofing.

But all four of the big makers have synthetic alternatives that are just as good, opponents claim.

“Stars of the pitch don’t hear the gunshots in the night nor witness youngsters ripped from their dying mother’s pouch, decapitated and thrown in the trash,” said Viva! campaigns manager Justin Kerswell.

“This is the Premier League’s dirty little secret.”

Phil Woolley, of the Australian Wildlife Protection Council, said: “When millions of kangaroos are slaughtered for sports footwear, this results in over a million babies dying horrible deaths as a waste product.

“It has nothing to do with the welfare of the kangaroos.

“The code of practice is nothing more than a smokescreen for the industry to hide behind.”

A Viva! campaign saw adidas star David Beckham abandon kangaroo boots in 2006 and followed a formal pledge from Nike to use more synthetic material.

But sports retailers across the UK, including Sports Direct, are still stocking kangaroo leather boots, including Nike’s Tiempo, worn by Ashley Cole, Man United’s Javier Hernández and Joe Cole, now at French club Lille.

Other footballers wearing the skins include Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, who both use the Geometra shoe which Umbro boasts is made from “high grade K leather”.

Manufacturers stand by their use of the product. Adidas told us: “This use of kangaroo leather is common practice in the footwear industry.

“Adidas insists that our suppliers fully comply with the Australian government’s strict rules on culling.

“We make a limited number of shoes using kangaroo leather, however it is not across the entire range and we ensure the leather does not originate from endangered species.”

Puma said it used “a limited amount of kangaroo leather” and followed the industry code of practice.

Rivals Nike and Umbro – which is also owned by Nike – told us: “Nike has worked proactively on phasing out exotic skins from its product range over the past few years.

“We are concerned about the humane treatment of animals and have been informed by the Australian government that suppliers must abide by their strict regulations for the humane treatment of animals.”